Freeport charter amendment fails due to lack of votes

Residents voted 1,091 to 168 in favor of the amendment, but not enough total votes were cast. Town Clerk Christine Wolfe said 1,413 votes would have needed to be cast for the amendment to have gone into effect.

Wolfe said, “The law states that no charter amendment may become effective unless the total votes cast for and against the question equal or exceed 30 percent of the total votes cast for the office of Governor in the municipality at the most recent gubernatorial election.”

According to Wolfe, 1,314 people turned out to vote on Tuesday, which is 20 percent of the town’s registered voters.

The amendment stated that residents would no longer have to go to Town Hall to sign petitions and petitions could be circulated around town. Under the existing rules, petitions have to be signed at Town Hall in the presence of the town clerk.